CHENNAI: The chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Kancheepuram district and her husband who is a member of CWC, Chennai South have been suspended as an investigation revealed that they had received money to favour a person in a child custody case. As per the Social Welfare Department’s order, the chairperson, P Selvi, and her husband M Baskar were removed based on reports submitted by the respective district collectors.
Sources said that a matrimonial dispute between a couple over the custody of a 13-year-old boy escalated when the minor filed a complaint under the Pocso Act against his mother and another person. The accusation is that the boy’s father bribed Selvi to influence the police to proceed with the fabricated complaint.
The Madras High Court, hearing a case filed by the mother to quash the FIR against her, said the Kancheepuram collector’s report found that the father had transferred more than Rs 1.1 lakh to the account of Selvi and they have had telephonic conversations about the case. While it was initially filed in Chennai, Baskar directed the case to Kancheepuram CWC, where Selvi was the chairperson. The duo allegedly conspired to receive money in this case.
“The suspension order comes nearly four months after the HC cited the collector’s report to quash the FIR. The department must explain the delay,” said a child rights activist.
In a similar case, a CWC member in Tiruvallur appeared in court in favour of a Pocso accused, prompting an inquiry against her in March this year. “This is the result of appointing unqualified people. The department needs to address this,” added the activist.